


100 Shorts Challenge

by Baamon5evr



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Daredevil (TV), Iron Man (Movies), Jessica Jones (TV), Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, So many tags, god help me, other tags will be included for specific chapters, why did i do this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-07-11 21:32:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 13,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7071187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baamon5evr/pseuds/Baamon5evr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of shorts under various pairings within different MCU fandoms. Some may be interconnecting, some may not be. Basically I challenged myself to not write more than 1000 words for each prompt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Peggy/Daniel (1)

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "Come over here and make me."
> 
> Pairing: Peggy Carter/Daniel Sousa
> 
> Word Count: 663
> 
> Tags: Established pairing, Marriage, Future fic (... in the context of Agent Carter but also past fic in the context of the rest of the MCU I guess? Timelines are weird, I'll run into this question more in future installments.)

Peggy knew she worked too much. She could feel herself slipping into a pattern of coming home too late to tuck the kids in and leaving too early to make them breakfast or see them off to school. That was all Daniel, her precious husband. He put up with a lot from her, almost too much. She couldn't keep herself quite in check. Even when she observed Howard's poor parenting skills she still ran back to the office at the drop of a hat. But it wasn't just a job, it was securing the future for her family, saving the world from nefarious forces, honoring the ones who were lost trying to protect the world. That's what Howard could never understand, they were meant to honor Steve's memory and sacrifice by carrying on, by protecting people, not by losing themselves in all the horror. But Peggy felt herself slipping away, not into the horror, but instead into her own heroism, pushing aside things that mattered for other things that mattered too and not prioritizing them in a way that didn't leave her riddled with guilt. 

She looked up from her desk as a knock sounded on the door. Daniel was there leaning against the door jam. 

"You planning on sleeping anytime soon?" He asked. 

"It's all this paperwork. The WSC needs it in a week's time and I'm behind. I'll be along as soon as I've finished what I need to, love." Daniel pushed off the panel and limped his way into the room. Peggy shot him a glare. 

"You know you're not supposed to walk without your crutch." 

"Surprised you noticed." Peggy rose her eyebrow at that. 

"Of course I noticed." 

"The same way you noticed how excited Tilda was for Mommy to see her dance recital which you missed." 

"I tried to make it, you know that, but how was I to know Dottie would choose then to steal a biological weapon?" 

"And how much Rich practiced everyday to impress you for his baseball game." 

"There was a sea beast terrorizing a tenement." 

"Or that dinner with my parents." 

"Your Mum has never liked me so I didn't so much mind the pig creatures attacking." 

"My sister's wedding?" 

"There was--" 

"Yes, a matter of national security or international safety or galactic prosperity, I know. I know, Peg, I get it. Of course I want the world to keep spinning, and I trust no one more than you to ensure that, that's why I stopped working when we had the kids, but we're a family. We're important too. You have an entire building full of agents you're supposed to put your trust in. Why can't they handle these situations so the kids can have their mother and I can have my wife? You are incredibly strong and capable but, as your husband, I'm telling you that you need to take a step back from work and be here, you need to be _here_ Peg before it's too late. Put down the damn pen, get some rest and tomorrow let your kids see you." Peggy smiled to herself before looking up at Daniel. She loved this man so much, not least because he could knock her upside the head when she got too distant. 

Work was important but her family was important too. She had been looking at Agent Fury lately, she could give him more responsibility she supposed.  

_Compromise where you can, Margaret._  

"Come over here and make me." She said, looking at her husband teasingly while twirling her pen in her hand. His eyes lit up and he smiled at her. 

"Oh, you're gonna wish you hadn't said that." 

"I'm counting on it."


	2. Misc (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Have you lost your damn mind?!"
> 
> Pairing(s)/Characters: Aunt May & Tony Stark, Peter Parker
> 
> Word Count: 242
> 
> Tags: Utensils used as weapons.

In hindsight, maybe bringing a 15 year old into their fight wasn't the smartest thing Tony had ever done but it also wasn't the dumbest, Pepper and Rhodey could attest to that. However, that logic didn't seem to be flying over much with Peter's aunt. Tony ducked once more as a spoon went flying into the wall behind him. 

"Have you lost your damn mind?!" She shouted at him, as she continued throwing utensils at him. Peter stood in the living room watching the scene with his hands pressed against his cheeks and his face a mask of horror. Tony quickly swayed left as a fork sailed through the air. 

"You wanna try to calm your insanely hot aunt down, kid?" Tony called towards him. 

"What do you expect me to do?!" Peter asked incredulously. 

"You have to be crazy! Out of your friggin' head." She ranted. 

"All things considered, ma'am, I'm not the one who looks out of their mind right now." Tony said. The glare she sent his way was enough to freeze a river. 

"You brought my kid into an active war zone. My kid! I'm going to kill you!" Tony was suddenly very aware that he was being backed into a corner and she still hadn't started throwing the butter knives. 

He really needed to start thinking before he did things.


	3. Jessica/Luke (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Please don't leave."
> 
> Pairing: Jessica Jones/Luke Cage
> 
> Word Count: 531

Jessica groaned as she regained consciousness. She tried to remember what she had been doing, where she had been before. There was a call about a pair of siblings whose parents had gone missing. They suspected the father was abusing the mother but it turned out it was the other way around. To make matters a little more serious, the mother had powers. Jessica had ignored Malcolm pleas to get help and had gone in alone. She got the man out but then the woman started shooting laser beams out of her eyes and things went blank after that. 

Jessica eyes flew open as she heard shuffling in her room. She sat up abruptly, ignoring how her vision went blurry and her head swam. She gasped ever so slightly as she saw who was sitting in a chair by her bed slumped over, seemingly asleep. Luke twitched in his slumber, twisting to his side before he sighed deeply. Jessica quickly wiped any trace of fear or any other emotion from her face as Luke's eyes opened. He looked over at her and stood when he noticed she was awake.  

"You're up, good. You had me going there for a minute." 

"I-- what are you doing here?"  

"I saved your sorry ass from the cyclops lady." 

"Cyclops?" 

"Malcolm's nickname, not mine. She was ready to blast your face off, I dealt with her and brought you back here." 

"You didn't have to do that." He rose his eyebrow at her slightly and Jessica sighed lightly. 

"But... thanks, I guess." Luke chuckled to himself while shaking his head. 

"You're welcome. Remind me to put you in a position where you have to say thank you again, the face you make is priceless." 

"I don't make a face." 

"You do. It's kinda like the face a baby makes when they taste real food for the first time and then realizing their parents has been feeding them shit this entire time." 

"That's a very detailed comparison." 

"Reva used to..." Luke trailed off and Jessica watched the realization set in that this was his wife's killer he was talking to. 

"Anyway, I'm glad you're okay. You should get a partner or something, one that can go into the field with you." Luke turned to leave and Jessica felt her stomach sink as she watched him.  

"Wait!" Luke paused and looked over his shoulder at her. Jessica opened and closed her mouth a few times, knowing what she wanted to say but also not wanting to sound so desperate and vulnerable.  

Except this was Luke. He knew her, he wouldn't use this against her. 

" Please don't leave." She could see the conflict on his face before he made his decision. 

"I called Claire to come check on you and Malcolm's next door. You're not going to be alone."  

"That's not why I want you to stay." 

"I know." Luke looked like he wanted to say more but instead he nodded at her and left.


	4. Peggy/Steve (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Do you... Well.. I mean... I could give you a massage."
> 
> Pairing: Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers
> 
> Word Count: 425

Peggy noticed Steve staring at her but didn't say anything. He had been staring ever since they left the debriefing room, his eyes roaming her up and down. Were it any other man, such as one like Hodge, she would've set him straight but it was Steve and he saw her everyday in her uniform. Obviously he was staring for some other reason. She walked side by side with him, waiting for him to say something but as usual he was as tight-lipped as ever. Peggy sighed and stopped walking, turning towards him. 

"What is it?" 

"Huh?" He asked, looking confused. 

"You've been staring at me for the past hour, what is it?" 

"Oh, um, it's just..." Peggy watched him stutter and turn red at having been caught. This was the boy she loved, God help her. 

"Steve, just tell me." 

"Are you alright?" He practically blurted out. 

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" 

"You're just walking funny, kinda like I did before the serum. You're limping." 

"Oh, that. It's just these shoes, they're too small and after a while they start to be murder on your feet."  

"We'll just get you new ones." Peggy couldn't decide whether to smile or sigh at his innocent naivety. 

"That would be nice except 'it's a frivolous business cost and we all must make sacrifices in times of war' or I think that's how they phrased it anyway. What I wouldn't give for a hot water soak or a massage right now." 

"Do you... I mean... Well... I could give you a massage." Steve said. Peggy looked at him with surprise that had more to do with the fact that he actually offered than any offense to the forward nature of the offer. He blushed bright red and she was tempted to tease him but her feet were practically throbbing. 

"I think I'll take you up on that offer, so long as you don't crush my feet." 

"I'll be careful with you." He said like it was a solemn vow and Peggy about swooned except she had more dignity than that. This massage would be a true test of her restraint though. 

Later on, when she was old and gray and looked back at her life, that massage was probably an even greater highlight than their first and only kiss.


	5. Claire/Matt (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Wait a minute. Are you jealous?"
> 
> Pairing(s)/Characters: Claire Temple/Matt Murdock, Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Frank Castle
> 
> Word Count: 988
> 
> Tags: Frank Castle is his own warning

When Claire quit her job she didn't have a plan thought out but she knew that she had just as much of a responsibility to keep this city safe as Matt did. She didn't have superpowers, just a particular set of skills so she used them. She couldn't pinpoint when her apartment became a halfway house for wayward injured superheroes but between Spiderboys, detectives with bionic arms and PIs with super-strength that's exactly what her place became. With all that, somehow she wasn't expecting Matt to come to her. 

She was working on Spiderboy #2's stitches while Spiderboy #1 supervised. 

"So you guys wanna tell me what happened this time?" Claire asked, knowing full well she wasn't going to get a straight answer or one that made sense to her anyway. 

"Well, there was a lizard and a sewer and the Jurassic park theme." Peter said with a shrug as he sat on the back of her couch, something she specifically told him NOT to do. 

"It was awesome." The 16 year old continued. Miles gave him a look at that. 

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one getting stitches right now. If my Mom sees these she'll kill me." 

"Maybe but if Anya sees them, I'll bet she'll think it's cool and you'd like that wouldn't you?" Peter teased, poking at the other teen. 

"Anya's your crush not mine, Pete." 

"You know I hate being called Pete." 

"I think it suits you, Pete." Miles said with a smirk.  

"Stop it." Peter said, shoving the other boy. 

"Make me." Claire snapped her fingers at the two of them before they could get into a web-slinging fight in her living room. 

"And you wonder why I call you two Spiderboys instead of Spidermen." She commented just as there was a knock at the door. 

"I'll get it!" Peter announced. 

"Not dressed in that glorified catsuit." 

"Hey! Mr. Stark made it, I like it. Besides, no one ever comes here besides other heroes and Santino." Claire didn't even get offended when Peter was bluntly truthful anymore.  

She focused on Miles' stitches and finished up. She was getting ready to bandage him up when Peter came back, shuffling slightly. 

"What'd you do?" 

"It's not what I did. There are some patients out there." 

"Send them in, I'm done with Miles."  

"One of them looks really dangerous. I've got a real bad feeling about him. The other seems nice enough I guess. Ironic because his helmet is devil horns." Claire turned around abruptly. 

"Devil horns? Wait, you two sling yourselves around the city at night and you don't know who Daredevil is?" 

"We don't watch the news." Miles said with a shrug. Claire rolled her eyes but stood up and made her way to the door. When she got there Matt was there in his suit with a man dressed all in black with his nose obviously broken. The lights flickered in the hallway but were otherwise dead. 

"Did you break the lightbulbs?" Claire asked, which said something about her priorities but oh well. The dude in black gave Matt a look that said everything she needed to know. 

"You're replacing them." 

"I will Claire, I promise." 

"Jeez Red, it's a couple of light bulbs." The man in black said. She could feel Matt's exasperation even though his face was covered by his cowl. 

"I just need help. He's been shot." Claire sighed but waved the men in. The man in black didn't hesitate but Matt seemed a little shocked. 

"You haven't heard? I run an illegal clinic now. I guess the vigilantism is contagious." 

"Is that who that boy was? A vigilante?" 

"Unfortunately. Him and his partner crash my place with their cuts, eat my food and destroy my couch. Not unlike someone I know. After I quit my job I needed to do something. Luke suggested I do what I do best. It's not exactly raking in the dough but I'll figure something out." 

"Luke?" 

"He's one of you. He drags sorry ass masked dudes here too." 

"Oh, well I'm glad you have help. I'm sure he's great." Matt's voice sounded weird and it took Claire a moment to realize why. As soon as she did she couldn't help but laugh.  

"Wait a minute. Are you jealous?" 

"No." 

"You are. What? Are you pouty because you're not the only one I'll let bleed on my couch anymore?"  

"That's not--" 

"I'm not going to let you finish that lie and sin yourself. Knowing you, you'll pay penance in blood for the rest of your life over it. Don't worry, you'll always be my first." Claire said, patting his cheeks. Matt smiled lightly at her before a throat cleared behind him. 

"The scary dude is using wire to sew his bullet wound shut." Miles said. Claire's eyes widened before she looked back at Matt. 

"Who'd you bring to my house? Rambo?" 

"Close. I gotta go but I'll be back later tonight, I promise. And thank you for taking care of him even if he doesn't let you." Matt said, pressing a kiss to her cheek and then turning to run off. 

"Don't come back without lightbulbs!" Claire called before turning back to her apartment where there was now three bleeding vigilantes. Why did she do things like this to herself?


	6. Tony/Rhodey (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Is there a reason you're naked in my bed?"
> 
> Pairing: Tony Stark/James "Rhodey" Rhodes
> 
> Word Count: 471

"Is there a reason you're naked in my bed?" Rhodey asked, coming into his dorm room to see Tony there with a sheet draped over his body and his head propped on his hand. It resembled a painting he couldn't remember the name of. 

"I had an idea. It seems so simple and obvious now but before it never occurred to me." 

"Somehow I know this isn't going to end well for me." 

"Depends on who you ask. I think we should have sex." 

"What?" Rhodey asked with a scoff. 

"Why would I have sex with you? You're not gay or bi."  

"No, well, I don't know that." 

"What do you mean you don't know that?" 

"Well, how do I know if I haven't tried it with a man yet?" Rhodey rose his eyebrow at the younger man. 

"It's not food, Tony. It's not a try-it-you-might-like-it kind of thing. You just know." 

"Well, I don't... I'm confused and I don't trust anyone more than you so I'm asking you to help me out here. If you don't want to, I understand. I... I'm not trying to use you, although that's what it's coming off as and I just know that--" 

"Tony! You're rambling."  

"Well, this is nerve-wracking, Rhodey! I'm asking my best friend to have sex with me so I can figure out my sexuality. It's not exactly a cake walk. I don't know how to... I'm not..." Rhodey could hear the teen hyperventilating and on the verge of a panic attack and there was another point, Tony was still 17 and Rhodey was not trying to be hit with a statutory rape charge. He sighed as he sat in front of the younger man and rubbed his hands up and down Tony's arms. 

"I'll tell you what? When you turn 18 if this is still a thing you want and if I decide I want it too, we can try then. For now I can take you to some queer bars for underage kids that I know of around here and you can explore all you want there. It's not any different from what you do now anyway." 

"I guess. I just... don't want to do this alone." Rhodey knew how painful that was for Tony to admit. 

"I hear you." Rhodey replied with a sigh, pulling the other man in for a hug. He didn't know what he was doing with this kid but he didn't want to think of himself without him.


	7. Pepper/Tony/Rhodey (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "I almost lost you."
> 
> Pairing/Character(s): Pepper Potts/Tony Stark/James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Vision
> 
> Word Count: 734

Pepper was off the grid while the world was apparently imploding in on itself so she didn't know about the Avengers' falling out until she was on a private jet back to New York and her phone started blowing up with messages and texts. There were emails and messages from her communications rep concerning some bill called the Sokovia Accords that Tony had signed which rose concerns among some of the shareholders of Stark Industries regarding the government's involvement in the companies' affairs. There was some footage of an incident in Lagos and Pepper just thanked her lucky stars that it wasn't another Sokovia. Most of her voicemails were from her secretary who seemed to be steadily losing her mind. There were a few from Rhodey telling her not to come back, to take all the time she needed. There was only two from Tony. One was very cryptic, all it said was that he had found a way to compromise between what he, she and Rhodey wanted and that he was fighting for them. The other was a lot less calm.  

"Pep, I-I'm so sorry. I didn't know what... I tried to get to him but he was falling too fast and I... Come back please. I need... Jim needs you." The message ended there and Pepper felt herself panicking at the way Tony's voice wavered and the raw emotion he exhibited. She turned on the television as the flight continued but there was nothing regarding Tony or Rhodey. She was able to find out where Tony and Rhodey was thanks to her secretary and Happy who picked her up. She wrung her hands together the whole drive to the complex, trying not to let her mind go through worst case scenarios with what she knew. Rhodey was hit, possibly paralyzed but no one was dead. When she got to the complex Vision was in the living room with a contrite look on his face.  

"They are upstairs in the Colonel's bedroom." Pepper nodded and made her way up the stairs. Rhodey's room door was cracked open and she could hear the voices of the men she loved wafting out. She hadn't really talked to either of them in a little over a month, not since she told them she needed a break. She knocked lightly on the door and pushed it open when Rhodey permitted her entry. Rhodey was sitting on the bed, propped up by pillows while Tony was sitting on a chair by the door. He stood up when he saw it was her.  

"Pepper."  

"I got Tony's message." She explained upon Rhodey's confusion. Rhodey gave Tony a look, like he didn't want Pepper to have been called. She knew Rhodey was completely supportive of her decision for space but it was also her choice to be here now.  

"I'll... I'll leave you two alone." Tony said, peeking at Pepper from under his lids. She knew Tony, she knew that once she told him she needed space he took that to mean that everything was down to him, that he was the only problem in their relationship and that without him, Pepper and Rhodey could go on but that's not what she wanted. 

"No you won't. You're going to stay here." Pepper said, nodding to Rhodey's right side. Tony stared at her for a moment before laying down on Rhodey's right side. Pepper toed off her shoes and walked over to Rhodey's left side, laying down on the bed and placing her arm over both Tony and Rhodey. It was silent for a moment. She could feel both men tenseness. 

"Pep, you don't have to--" Rhodey started but Pepper cut him off.  

"I almost lost you." She shook her head, trying not to think about everything she missed.  

"I almost lost both of you. I'm not going anywhere. We'll talk more later. For now, let's relax." She felt them give a collective sigh and cuddle closer to each other. She didn't know what was going to happen next but she knew they were going to handle it together.


	8. Bucky/Natasha (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Wanna bet?"
> 
> Pairing(s)/Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov
> 
> Word Count: 382

For however much going on missions still made a surge of nervousness rise in him, Bucky actually felt pretty calm and cool about this. Their target was a low level thug who was in Buenos Aires to sell Chitauri tech left over from the battle of New York that had been circulating in the black markets for a while. His buyer was AIM, a splinter cell organization of HYDRA. The guy had settled at a café to eat and Bucky took the opportunity to purview the street vendors across the street from the place. He was examining the plums when Natasha sidled up beside him, nibbling on what look kind of like a hotdog. 

"I got you a choripan, it's really good." She said, handing it over to him. He took it from her and bit into it before asking the vendor about the plums. 

"Plums again? You get them where ever we go." 

"They help promote memory retention." Bucky replied with a shrug. Nat gave him a look at that, her lips tilted into a slight smile. 

"What?" 

"You're adorable, you know that?" Bucky smirked as he paid for the plums and stuffed them in his pocket. 

"Might have heard that once or twice." He peeked behind Nat and saw that their target was now staring at them with wide panicked eyes as he spoke on his cellphone. 

"We've been spotted." He said, nodding behind her. Nat sighed in response. 

"I wanted to finish my choripan." Bucky took her glorified hotdog and passed both his and hers over to the vendor, asking her to hold them for the next ten minutes until they came back. 

"We'll split up, cut him off and hand him off to Sharon. She's waiting close by, we meet back here in ten." Nat smirked challengingly at him. 

"Ten minutes? Wanna bet I get the guy in eight?" Bucky scoffed. 

"I'll be standing here waiting for you when you finally show up." Natasha smirked wider and kissed his cheek before running off, their target already trying to blur himself into the crowds. Bucky cracked his neck before setting off after him, missions weren't so bad anymore, especially if he had Nat with him.


	9. Frank/Karen (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Don't ever do that again."
> 
> Pairing: Frank Castle/Karen Page
> 
> Word Count: 770
> 
> Tags: Guns CW, mentions of gang, mentions of murder including child death, Pre-Relationship, dubious/skewed morality courtesy of Frank Castle

It was easy, like second nature to him by now.  

His breaths came slow and his heart rate was steady as he stared down the barrel of the gun at his target. He was a former member of the Crip's gang and on his way out he had gunned down a mother and her two children, both under the age of 10 years old. He didn't deserve to live carefree, he didn't deserve to run from this. Frank was poised to shoot him as soon as he walked from his house. His finger raised towards the trigger but before he could pull it the man was pulled into an alleyway as he walk past it. Frank paused before he crawled his way across the roof, his rifle clutched in his hand as he went along. He peered out of the scope to investigate and felt every bone in his body jolt when he saw it was Karen Page standing in that alleyway, her body right in front of the ex-gang member's, blocking Frank's shot to him. 

His lip curled from his teeth in a scowl. He knew that she knew he was there, she knew what he was there to do and she had the nerve to not only mess with his op but place herself in harm's way by standing next to this guy and in front of Frank's bullet. He pulled his rifle away from the ledge, already accepting the lost cause... for today, anyway, Page couldn't follow him all over town messing with his ops. He took the rifle apart and put it back in it's case before he made his way downstairs, a limp in his step from his last op.  

He made his way to the ground level and paused in front of the door to the building he was using as high ground. He could've gone down the block and stopped at a cafe or something but instead he found himself walking towards the alleyway first. When he peered down the opening Karen was standing there alone leaning against one of the grimy walls. She looked up when she heard his footsteps and pushed off the wall. 

"I was wondering if you would show up." She said, her voice was soft sounding, like she was happy to see him or something. He didn't feel the same (he was lying). 

"The hell is wrong with you?" She tilted her head in slight confusion. 

"What the hell were you thinking standing in front of that scum? I could've killed you, I should've done. You had no right." 

"To what? Stop you from committing murder? I think that's one of those rights that are pretty obvious without it having to be written down." 

"You weren't saying that when it was Wesley, were you? They're both thugs, just the same." Karen gave him a glare at that. 

"I know what he is, what he used to be and I make no excuse for that or for him. But now? Now, he has a daughter who you would've orphaned and a wife who you would've widowed. How is that fair for you of all people to do?" He looked at her sharply at that. 

"Careful now, you're skating a little recklessly." He said to her, it didn't hold as much venom as he wanted it to. Karen shrugged in response. 

"If I fall, I fall. I've never been one for skating." Frank nodded, not saying anything else to further the metaphor or refute it. 

"You got a job to do or you gonna keep following me around?" 

"Haven't decided." 

"Well, if you're going to follow me to the coffee shop you're paying for your own shit." 

"Of course." She said with a slightly breathless chuckle. They walked out of the alleyway side by side but Frank stopped her before they completely emerged. 

"Don't ever do that again. Don't ever stand between me and one of them. It might not end so pretty next time." 

"I can't make that promise." Frank couldn't quite stop the smirk that rose on his lips. This woman was so damn stubborn. 

"I know that but don't say I didn't warn you." 

"Well, don't say _I_ didn't warn _you_. Fair?" 

"Fair."


	10. Misc (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Teach me to play."
> 
> Pairing(s)/Characters: Peggy Carter & Tony Stark, DUM-E
> 
> Word Count: 904
> 
> Tags/Warning: Mentions of child neglect, Howard Stark's A+ parenting (note the sarcasm), Maria Stark's actual A+ parenting (why'd she marry that dude?)

Peggy walked up the path of Howard's house almost certain he wasn't there but still needing to try on the off chance that he was. She used the knocker and waited patiently for the door to open. She fully expected Jarvis to answer, she wasn't expecting Howard's 8 year old son. 

"Anthony!"  

"Hi Aunt Peggy." Peggy did not get to see much of the child. He was usually away at boarding school and when he wasn't he was with his mother or locked away in his room. She didn't miss that his eyes had deflated when he saw it was her at the door. 

"I thought you were away at school." 

"We have spring break. Dad was supposed to pick me up and then bring me to France where Mom is but he forgot, our driver brought me here. Jarvis will be here soon." Peggy smiled a sad smile at the boy. Howard was a truly horrid parent, brash one second and wholly dismissive the next. 

"Wait, are you here alone?" 

"No, DUM-E's with me."  

"Who's DUM-E?" Tony's eyes sparked excitedly and he turned and ran back in the house. 

"I'll show you." He said, waving her into the house. Peggy followed after him as he ran up the stairs and to his playroom. He stood in the middle of the room shuffling excitedly. He definitely inherited Howard's affinity for showmanship. 

"Introducing mark 1 of my line of advanced PAs. DUM-E come to the parlor!" Peggy turned as she heard something wheeling it's way towards them. She looked back at Tony and he was practically bouncing in place, Peggy's smiled a little at his excitement. She turned back to the door as the robot came into view. It was taller than her with a singular claw hand. It wheeled it's way into the room but got stopped up as it hit a table, causing the flower pot to fall over and shatter. 

"Seriously? Again? This is why I named you DUM-E." Tony said with exasperation.  

"You made it?" Peggy said, walking around the robot as it corrected itself and wheeled to a stop in front of the boy. 

"I built him all on my own. Dad left me at his workshop downtown and I was bored so I drew up plans to make DUM-E. I built him when I was home during Christmas break. Dad says he's mediocre but I can work my way up to better." Peggy restrained herself from rolling her eyes at Howard's stupidity. 

"I think he looks lovely Tony. I'd love to see what else you've built." 

"Really?" 

"Is that such a surprise?" 

"Well, I know you're my Dad's friend but I don't get to see you a whole lot. Whenever I'm home and I ask to see you, Dad says you have more important things to do than hang around with me and play." Peggy shook her head. 

"Well, you're father's an idiot." Tony looked up at her with both surprise and appreciation but still protested that notion. 

"He's one of the smartest men alive, the magazines say so." 

"I don't mean that kind of smart. Sure, he knows numbers and figures well and good but when it comes to people, he's a right arse. You can call me anytime and, save for the world being in danger of blowing up, I'll come see you. I'll perhaps even bring my children to play with you." 

"I'd like that." He replied with a smile before leading her by her hand to his room and showed her all the gadgets and devices and robots he had built and she couldn't understand how Howard had looked at the obvious talent his son exhibited and called it mediocre. In all the fantastic metal creations she was surprised to find a chess board sticking out from under some stray wires. 

"Do you play?" Peggy asked. 

"Mommy got it for me this past Christmas. She was meant to teach me how to play when I got to France so we could start playing together whenever I get home. She likes when we do things like that together. She takes me to all sorts of places but she says it's even better when it's just the two of us on a quiet evening at home." Tony had a smile on his face when talking about his mother that he didn't have when he spoke about Howard. 

"I'm sorry you're not with your Mum right now." Tony nodded before his face lit up. 

"You could teach me how to play." He immediately reverted to shyness right after that. 

"I mean, if you know how and you want to. You don't have to." Peggy reached out a hand to the boy and placed it gently on his shoulder with a matching smile. 

"I'd love to teach you." Tony smiled brightly at her and Peggy felt warmth not unlike what she felt for her children. Howard had no idea what he was missing.


	11. Clint/Laura (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Don't you dare throw that snowba-, goddammit!"
> 
> Pairing/Characters: Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Lila Barton & Cooper Barton
> 
> Word Count: 990

When Clint got back to the farm after the battle of New York it was Spring. The kids were so excited to see him, clamoring to talk over each other about seeing him on TV fighting with Aunt Natasha and Iron Man. All the while he could barely hold himself together enough to hug them back and indulge their questions. Laura had stood silent during it all until she made lunch for Coop and Lila and sent them off. She wrapped her arm around his waist and helped him up the stairs. She sat him down and took his leather jacket and hoodie off before making him lay back on the bed. 

"Nick called ahead and told me everything. I'm sorry about Phil, I know how important he was to you." 

"To both of us." 

"Yeah, well, we're focusing on you right now. I told Nick to pull you out indefinitely." 

"Laura--" 

"Some asshole from another planet just played with your mind like it was play-doh, you need down time. You're out of the field until I say so." Clint smiled to himself at Laura's authoritative voice. She had always been like that, even during their circus days and on to when they first started working together at SHIELD, she had always been the take charge leader. It's why when Lila was born she decided to retire. If one of them was going to stay back with the kids it might as well be the parent that actually has the restraint and will power to implement discipline and not turn to putty at the first sign of puppy eyes. 

"Is that an order, ma'am?" 

"You're damn right it is." Clint snuggled further into her arms and let the familiarity of home wash over him. 

It wasn't an easy next few months. He woke up with nightmares, he jumped at noises and didn't trust their neighbors. Spring saw him spend most of his time inside. Cooper and Lila didn't seem to mind the fact that Dad wasn't going out with them to the stream or to school events, they heard him at night so they didn't ever complain. Nick sent a therapist and a psychologist to evaluate him and he started having sessions with the therapist twice a week. He wasn't given a choice, if he wanted to go back to work he had to attend the sessions, and since he had a wife and two kids he kind of needed to go back to work. Summer saw him make it to the porch, he didn't take the kids to the fair like usual but Laura took them along with her sister Kate when she came to visit and when they came back Clint took the kids on rides on the tractor. They seemed to think that was a fine trade-off. He switched to weekly therapy sessions. Fall saw him getting more into the grove of things. He wasn't waiting for Loki over his shoulder anymore, he trusted that his neighbors were his neighbors. He took the kids to school, he went into town to grocery shop. He and Laura started having sex again and he didn't worry about hurting her anymore. He had more or less accepted Coulson's death and his part in it. He switched to bi-weekly sessions. 

Winter found him very nearly himself. He chopped wood and brought a good supply to his elderly neighbors down the road, he called his brother and got updates from him, called Natasha and Nick and even though they still told him he wasn't allowed back to work yet he still managed to help them in some ways. He was functional now. He was functional enough to build a snowman with his kids and wife, then subsequently end up in a snowball fight.  

Somehow it ended up being boys against girls and he and Cooper found themselves skulking around the farm trying to catch Lila and Laura unawares. Laura had always been a pretty good shot and the kids inherited both of their coordination. Clint lost Cooper at some point but he appeared by his side again and they made their way, snowballs in hand, around the shed trying to corner the girls. They jumped out from behind the shed and then stared in confusion at the empty space before Clint was suddenly assaulted by snowballs. 

"Ah, damn it, how'd get behind us?" Clint asked, turning to the girls. 

"We had an inside source." Lila said with a smirk. Clint turned to Cooper, his face a mask of utter betrayal. 

"How could you? Is the bond between father and son no longer sacred?" 

"Sorry Dad, Lila promised me control of Netflix tonight." He said with a shrug, pulling his arm back. 

"Cooper Barney Barton, don't you dare throw that snowba,—goddammit!" Clint exclaimed as the snow dripped down his face. 

"I think that means we win." Laura commented as the kids high-fived.  

"Traitors, all of you." Clint said with a pout. 

"Well, how about us band of traitors get Daddy inside so we can warm him up with hot chocolate by the fireplace? I'll even throw in some marshmallows." Laura said, throwing her arms around his neck and pecking his nose. 

"Well, I guess-ah!" Clint's back lurched as snow dripped down from his neck into his jacket. Laura pulled away with a loud laugh that set the kids off. 

"You are all horrible to me." 

"But you love us." Lila said. Clint stomped off without answering but there was still a smile on his face as their laughter continued behind him. He really did love his family, he didn't know where he'd be without them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I firmly believe that the reason Clint didn't go crazy like Selvig did is because he had Laura, Lila and Cooper along with SHIELD resources to help him mentally recuperate.


	12. Pepper/Tony (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "I think we need to talk."
> 
> Pairing/Characters: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
> 
> Word Count: 716

Pepper was waiting in the office when he got back home. She always waited for him but he knew it was different now. She was looking over some files for SI, a frown set on her face. 

"That face doesn't bode well." Pepper looked up at him with a tired half-smile on her face. Tony returned the look before the smile fell from Pepper's face and off of his in turn. 

"I think we need to talk." 

"Words no man wants to hear." He quipped sitting down across from her. 

"I'm exhausted Tony. Not of you but of everything else. You blew up the suits and I thought that was it, then you built more and Ultron happened. I understand the intent behind him but--" 

"But, still, my fault." Pepper sighed before continuing. 

"The board is on my ass about everything you do now. You can't breathe without me getting ten calls right after. Running the business is stressful enough on its own without that on top of it." 

"I know. Listen, Pep, I get it--" 

"No, I don't think you do get it and maybe that's because I haven't been clear about it so I'm going to be clear now. I know you were an asshole before the cave. You were careless and childish and you didn't care about pretty much anything. Being Iron Man changed so much for you and I'm so proud of the man you are now, the man that I love so much, but we're not getting any younger and the world is filling up with people who are heroes in their own rights. I think... I _want_ for you and I to be able to settle down together and run SI. I want to be with you and not worry that some crisis is going to take you away. I want you to be here with me. That's what I want." 

"You want me to stop being Iron Man?" Tony asked rhetorically, he already knew the answer.  

"Is that something you can do?" Pepper asked hopefully. Tony looked down not wanting to see that hope extinguished. 

"For me?" She continued doubtfully. 

"I would do anything, _anything_ for you. Giving the suit up, I just... I need to figure out how to let go. I don't know how to do that." Pepper nodded and sighed again, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes. 

"I need a break." She said warily. Tony froze in his seat. Pepper looked at him with confusion then understanding followed by resignation. 

"That's not an ultimatum, or it is, I don't know anymore. I just know that I'm tired all the time. I need to get away from all of this. I have to go." Tony nodded but felt like the air was being sucked from his chest. Pepper reached out and grabbed his hand. He looked up at her, taking in her sad smile, her red eyes and the new lines on her face. 

"I'll be back, Tony. I promise. I just need--" 

"No, yeah, I get it. You should. You should get a break from New York and Stark Industries and... me. You deserve that." Pepper's face only got sadder to the point where he could no longer stare at her. He stood up abruptly, pulling out his phone. 

"Matter fact, I'll call our pilot right now, tell him to take you wherever you want to go." He sniffed at the end of his sentence, willing his tears away. Pepper came up behind him, her arm brushing his back before she stood in front of him, a tear slipping down her face. He tried to keep himself in check but he knew he probably looked wrecked.  

"Tony..." Pepper trailed off before wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He started to shake after a moment and so did she. He knew she was leaving, he knew she had to go but that didn't stop it from hurting as much as it did. He didn't think any amount of avenging could stop that.


	13. Sam/Steve (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Kiss me."
> 
> Pairing/Characters: Sam Wilson/Steve Rogers
> 
> Word Count: 620

"Have you noticed that we spend an inordinate amount of our lives running?" Sam asked, a question that was for the most part rhetorical, as he and Steve ducked through alleyways and darkened streets away from the AIM agents that were pursuing them. 

"Well, we're fugitives so..." Steve replied. 

"I know but still, one would think we should be laying low but instead we're breaking into terrorist organizations and playing hide and seek with trigger-happy thugs." 

"You want to stop? We could. Could find a quiet place away from all this, lay low, not make any noise." Steve said in a serious tone but he was side-eyeing Sam knowingly. Sam held out for all of three seconds before a grin broke out on his face. 

"Hell no, I love this. Gardening's great but I still need something to keep the blood flowing hot." 

"Well, this is one way to do it." Steve replied, his voice heavily suggestive. Sam was about comment on his tone when Steve suddenly grabbed him by the arm and swung him into an alleyway. He pressed him up against the brick wall, knocking the breath out of Sam in an instant. 

"Steve, what--" 

"Kiss me." 

"What?" Sam asked, anticipation and trepidation rising in the pit of his stomach in equal measure. 

"There are goons coming at us from both the North and South." 

"Okay, what's kissing going to do?" 

"Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable. Or that what Natasha says, it worked last time when she and I needed to get away from Rumlow and the STRIKE team." Sam felt a little disappointed that this was for a mission but hey, that didn't mean he couldn't make an impression.  

He grabbed the lapels of Steve's jacket and pulled him into a kiss. Steve was stiff for a moment before Sam felt his whole body relax and he began responding to the kiss. He used a little too much teeth but Sam didn't mind, especially when he pushed further into Sam's space, his body pressing him against the wall, his arms propped up on the wall on either side of him, blocking him in. Sam could hear footsteps echo by the alleyway entrance. They paused before continuing off in their separate directions. Sam figured Steve would pull away now but he didn't, instead slanting his mouth over Sam's and dropping one of his hands from the wall in order to caress Sam's cheek and pull their faces closer. Sam had no protestations to that and wrapped his arms around Steve's shoulders in response. 

The kiss was heated but isolated to just their lips, both of them content to let it remain just a kiss. When breathing became a necessity for Sam he dropped his arms from Steve's shoulders and pulled back slightly. Steve let him, pressing one more chaste kiss to his lips before pulling away completely. The two men stared at each other silently for a moment before Sam cleared his throat. 

"I think they're gone." 

"Yeah, they are." Steve didn't say anything more than that, continuing to stare intensely at Sam. 

"So we should... I mean, we should probably get off the street. Get back to the motel, Wanda's probably worrying about us by now." 

"You're right, let's go." Steve agreed. Sam pushed himself off the wall and walked ahead of Steve out of the alleyway, his lips still tingled from the kiss. He had a feeling it was going to stay seared into his memory.


	14. T'Challa/Monica (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt(s): "So, I found this waterfall..." & "I'm going for a swim. Do you wanna join me?"
> 
> Pairing/Characters: T'Challa/Monica Lynne, Nakia & T'Chaka
> 
> Word Count: 664

Wakanda was so different from anywhere else Monica had ever been. The architecture was like something out of a sci-fi movie. The people, for the most part, were friendly towards her but she did notice that she was getting looks from people. According to Nakia, who (reluctantly) accompanied her on her walk, it was because they could tell she was a tourist and they knew that she was close to their prince so they wanted to assess her. She held her head high though, she would not be cowed by this, not after everything she'd been through. 

Rather than be afraid under Nakia's heated gaze and the curiosity of everyone else, she immersed herself into her environment. She went into restaurants and ate new foods, she talked to people who told her things about the history of Wakanda and taught her new words that she didn't already know from T'Challa's teaching. She went the long way back to the palace but paused as she noticed something that made a smile burst onto her face. She practically ran back to the palace only slowing when she was passing T'Chaka. She bowed to him and he smiled genially at her. 

"T'Challa is in the library. Would you please try to get him out of that room, sweet girl?" 

"I'll do my best, your majesty, but you know him." T'Chaka chuckled under his breath. 

"Yes, I know him. Still, you have a way with him." Monica was glad of her dark skin so he did not see her blush. He waved her off and she ran off towards the library. She paused outside the door fixing her hair, there was a light sheen of sweat covering her skin but she still fixed herself to look somewhat unfrazzled before she pushed into the room. 

T'Challa was there sitting on one of the ornately designed couches reading from one of the many tomes. She was sure that whatever book it was he had already read it twice but that was just how he was. She creeped up quietly behind him intent to scare him but just as she was going to pounce he spoke up. 

"I'm not the Black Panther of Wakanda for nothing, you know." Monica kissed her teeth in slight annoyance. 

"One of these days I'm going to scare you." He turned to her with a smile. 

"That will be the day I renounce my title." 

"I don't want you to do all of that now, I'll just settle for you leaving this room. Your father has given us leave and I found this waterfall. I'm going for a swim, do you wanna join me?" 

"I don't know, I have some studying left to do." 

"You've read every book in this library twice over, take a break." 

"Moni..." Monica sighed. 

"I guess I'll just have to go by myself or maybe I'll get Nakia to come with me and she'll just drown me before anyone's the wiser." Monica turned to leave before smirking to herself. 

"Better yet, I'll ask Ezinma to come with me. I don't court her kind of attention but at least I'll have someone there who appreciates me." 

"Was that supposed to be subtle?" Monica shrugged then rose her eyebrow challengingly at him. T'Challa sighed and rolled his eyes but closed the book and stood up from the couch. Monica clapped happily and hugged him when he made his way over to her. 

"You'll make a better leader than you know, bargaining as you do." 

"Well, if I can command a jazz room, an entire kingdom can't be that bad. I'll settle for the prince right now though."


	15. Sharon/Maria (1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "What the hell are you wearing?"
> 
> Pairing: Sharon Carter/Maria Hill
> 
> Word Count: 526

"Are you ready yet?" Maria called, her voice full of annoyance as she sat on the bed of the motel room they had rented for their mission. She could practically smell the venereal diseases wafting off the walls and the entire room. She hated this part of missions, the seedy motel rooms were not her style, neither was waiting for people to get dressed.

“Sharon.” She called, annoyance slowly shifting to anger. The blonde popped her head out of the bathroom door.

“Not Sharon, honey. Remember? I am Margery, your beautiful wife and as your wife, I’d appreciate some damn patience from you and—wait, what the hell are you wearing?” Sharon said, cutting herself off. Maria looked down at her black pantsuit.

“Clothes.” Sharon rolled her eyes.

“It’s a formal party. We’re supposed to be blending in and you’re wearing a pantsuit.”

“What’s wrong with pantsuits?”

“Nothing, if we were in a board meeting but we’re not.” Sharon sighed, rolling her eyes.

“I knew you would do something like this, that’s why I got you a dress. It’s in the closet.” Maria glared slightly at her but Sharon rolled her eyes again.

“Just put it on, we’re going to be late.” She said before retreating to the bathroom again. Maria sighed with annoyance. She hated undercover missions. She was sure she had managed to escape that, being deputy director of SHIELD and all but Fury had ordered her to join Agent Carter on this mission and there was little else she could do about that. She grabbed the dress from the closet, glaring at it but pulled off the pantsuit and pulled it on anyway.

She was brushing her hair when the bathroom door finally, mercifully, opened and Sharon walked out. She was wearing a white cross front gown that flowed to the ground. Her blonde hair was out in loose curls and Maria froze slightly when she saw her. Her eyes roamed her up and down, she looked absolutely gorgeous and Maria was overcome with a desire to stay in this seedy motel room with her and forget all about their mission. She snapped out of it and looked up at her face. She felt slightly vindicated when she realized Sharon was looking her up and down too.

“You look good.” Sharon commented, her voice wavering ever so slightly. Maria looked down at the skin tight red gown Sharon had chosen for her.

“Thank you. You look… decent. I don’t why it took you two hours to come up with this.” Maria replied. She inwardly winced when she saw Sharon’s face fall slightly before she took a deep breath and then walked over to Maria, grabbing her hand. Maria’s heart stutter slightly but she ignored it. She was Carter’s superior in more ways than one, she was not about to turn into a schoolgirl over the other woman.

“Well, let’s not waste any more time. We have a party to get to, honey.” Sharon said, embracing her cover as she led Maria out of the room. The deputy director could already tell this night was going to be trying in more ways than one.


	16. Vision/Wanda (1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Are you ticklish?"
> 
> Pairing: Wanda Maximoff/Vision
> 
> Word Count: 331

“Are you ticklish?” Wanda asked.

Vision looked over at the young woman, an expression of bemusement on his usually blank face. It almost made Wanda laugh.

“Excuse me?”

“Ticklish, are you? I saw how you were confused when Sam and I got into a tickle fight the other day, I’ve been wondering if you are ticklish.”

“I was just wondering at the effectiveness of tickling as a weapon. It would work certainly in a one on one match but I doubt it would be helpful on a larger scale.” Wanda did laugh now.

“Tickling isn’t a weapon. I mean it can be but you usually only do it to people you like.” Vision looked more confused now.

“But I was scanning Sergeant Wilson as you were having your “tickle fight”. He was having trouble drawing his breath, his heart rate was elevated, he began crying.”

“It’s because he was laughing so hard. People tickle other people because they want them to laugh, they want them to be happy.”

“So you wonder if I’m ticklish because you want me to be happy?”

“In a way, yes, but I also I think I would enjoy hearing you laugh. I’ve never heard you do so.”

“I never have.”

“You must’ve at some point.” Vison shook his head. Wanda looked away, something like sympathy in her voice.

“Oh well… I wonder…”

“Yes?” Vision asked, prompting her to continue her thought.

“I wonder then, what your reaction will be to this.” Wanda reached out suddenly, her fingers attacking Vision’s sides. She used her powers as well to heighten the feeling and was delighted when Vision burst out laughing. He pulled away and looked at her with bewilderment.

“What was that?”

“You _are_ ticklish. That is very good to know.” She replied, before strutting out of the room, leaving Vision holding his side in confusion as well as his chest as he was struck with two foreign feelings. He didn’t know how to begin to decipher either.


	17. Misc (3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "I can't believe you talked me into this."
> 
> Pairing: Laura Barton/Clint Barton, Natasha Romanov & Lila Barton
> 
> Word Count: 485

Laura pushed her way through the crowds at Casper Elementary School. It was the night of the Christmas recital so most of the town, whether they were parents or not, had shown up. Lila was nervous at the large turnout but Laura knew she would be fine. She wasn’t so sure about the other two though. She managed to make it backstage and just barely contained her laughter when she found her husband and their best friend.

The kid’s teacher had convinced Clint to dress up as Santa for the recital. Laura was in no way opposed to the entertainment that could garner and she wasn’t disappointed. He was wearing a fat suit and a fake beard along with the customary red suit and hat. He looked like a bad wind could knock him over. Usually Natasha would be there to taunt him except she couldn’t because she was decked out in an elf costume, the shoes curled up on her feet, the vibrant green dress, the candy cane stripped stockings. It was almost too much. Laura was quick to pull out her phone and snapped a picture before the two could protest, she’d send it to Nick later on.

“You two look… you’re something.” She said, a large grin on her lips. Natasha reached down scratching at her legs.

“I can’t believe you talked me into this. These stockings are murder.” The redhead grumbled.

“I am not suffering by myself, sister. I fall off this ship, you’re falling off with me. That’s what partners do.” Clint replied.

“You’ll be lucky if I’m still your partner after this.” Laura rolled her eyes. She knew this was all talk, they’d be right back to bickering like siblings soon enough.

“Mommy.” She turned as Lila ran up behind her dressed like the sugar plum fairy.

“Hey baby, you ready for your big moment?” Lila nodded enthusiastically.

“Yup, I’m all ready. Can we go over the moves again though, Auntie Nat? Then can we find Daddy so he can wish me good luck?” Lila asked. Laura looked over at Clint, amused that their daughter didn’t recognize him but Natasha had a devious smirk on her lips. Clint shook his head at her but she just smirked wider.

“Look for your Daddy? He’s--”

“I think I hear Ms. Keene calling us. We should go get to our places.” Clint said, interrupting her. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from Lila.

“But I have to practice again.” Laura shook her head, kneeling down in front of her daughter.

“You’re going to be perfect baby. Don’t worry so much, go out there and knock ‘em dead.” Lila smiled and nodded.

“Good luck hug?” Laura squeezed her baby girl tightly before pulling away.

“Go get ready.” Lila ran off and Laura laughed to herself. She knew that this was going to be memorable to say the least.


	18. Sam/Steve (2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "I'm not leaving you."
> 
> Pairing: Sam Wilson/Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov, OCs
> 
> Word Count: 999
> 
> Tags: Blood CW, car accidents, drunk driving, established relationship
> 
> Note: This one is a slight cheat because there's a slightly longer version of this on my tumblr but *shrug*

Steve had been on the phone with Sam when he heard a screech accompanied by the sounds of metal scrapping against metal and glass breaking before the phone was disconnected and he was left to helplessly try to figure out what had just happened, if he had actually heard what thought he heard. He called Sam back multiple times but it went to voicemail. After the third time he didn’t get through it finally hit him that, yes, that actually happened. Sam was just in a car accident.

He called everyone he could think of: Natasha, Maria, Fury even Tony, and after a quick search Tony narrowed it down and Natasha drove him to the highway. The stretch of road was covered with emergency operators and there were two mangled cars. One of them was crashed against the median. The driver of that car had scratches and bruises on his face but otherwise looked fine. He was talking to the police and doing a poor job of acting sober. Steve could smell the alcohol wafting off of him even above the smell of asphalt and gasoline. He had a strong desire to go punch him but Natasha led him towards the other car. They were stopped by an officer and watched as the firefighters and police talked by the driver’s side window of the upturned car. Steve couldn’t see Sam’s face but he could see him hanging upside from his seat, he wasn’t moving very much.

As he observed Sam, he could feel Natasha pulling on him to move back from the scene but instead he tore himself away from her and ducked under the tape, making a beeline for Sam whilst ignoring Natasha’s calls for him and the protests of the police officer.

“Sir, you can’t be past the police tape. Sir!” One of the police officers said. Steve spared them a glance before walking around the wreckage towards the driver’s window.

“Holy shit, that’s Captain America.” A firefighter said but Steve ignored her in favor of kneeling by the window to look in at his boyfriend.

“Sam.” He reached in but drew his hand back short. Sam didn’t respond at first before he looked over at Steve sluggishly.

“Huh, fancy seeing you here. You come here often?” Sam said jokingly. Steve smiled wanly at him.

“You okay?”

“Oh you know, just hanging around.” Sam was in his right mind at least if he could joke about the situation.

“The seat belt is jammed and the car door is stuck. We need the jaws of life to open it but that might shift some of the metal in a way that hurts him. We’re trying to figure out a game plan right now.” The firefighter who discerned his identity said. Steve assessed the way Sam was in the car. His body had shifted so his back was to the door, Steve could see that blood dripped from the bottom of the car door but he couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

“I need a flashlight.” The woman quickly passed him one and Steve shone it into the car. Sam’s back was bleeding from where a piece of metal punctured it. He flashed it by the seatbelt but he wouldn’t be able to get to it and the door was jammed shut.

“How long until the jaws of life get here?”

“Another 30 minutes.” Steve looked at Sam closely, he looked paler than normal. He was not about to make him wait another 30 minutes.

The passenger door was a bust, the back doors weren’t much better. He would have to get him out through the driver’s door. The window was smashed so he used his hands to widen the hole.

“What are you doing?” Sam asked.

“What’s it look like?”

“Your hands…”

“Your everything else. I’m not leaving you and letting you stay in this death trap.” He got one of his arms inside of the window and latched onto the door from the inside as well as the outside. He pulled it with all of his strength. The car shifted towards him causing the first responders to jump into action, using their bodies to brace against the car to keep it in place. The door groaned as he pulled on it, peeling itself away from the wreckage but not enough to get Sam out.

“Pull it up and out.” The female firefighter advised. Steve shifted to his knees and pulled the door at this new angle. The bolts and screws popped out of place before the door was free of the car’s hold on it. He threw it and crawled over to Sam. The wheel was in the way of the seatbelt and he ripped it off before throwing it aside too. He grabbed the seatbelt and tore it free of the mechanism but Sam didn’t fall to the bottom of the car as expected. The dashboard was caved in on one of his legs. Steve looked up at the firefighter who had been helping him and nodded towards Sam.

“Can you hold him? I don’t want him to fall.” The woman went to her knees and held onto Sam as Steve reached in and pushed the dashboard back hard enough that it caved in the opposite direction and the firefighter was able to pull Sam out. He crawled out of the car and took Sam away from the woman, holding him in his embrace.

“Get the medics over here quick.” A police officer ordered before another ran off to alert them. Steve was more focused on Sam than anything else.

“You’re okay, I’ve got you. I’m here.” Steve reassured him, holding him tightly. Sam nodded against his shoulder, shuddering ever so slightly, but holding Steve in a weaker embrace.

“You just dismantled a car.” Sam said in the same tone he used whenever Steve did something superhuman. Steve shrugged in response.

“It was for you, of course I did.” Sam chuckled weakly at that.

“Sap.”


	19. Clint/Laura (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "I'm dying."
> 
> Pairing/Characters: Clint Barton/Laura Barton & Lucky the Pizza Dog
> 
> Word Count: 401
> 
> Tags/Warnings: pre-canon, established relationship

"Laura!" Clint's voice called, resounding through the apartment.

Laura sighed as she walked to their bedroom. Clint was in the bed surrounded by blankets and propped up with pillows. His nose was deep red, his cheeks were flushed, his eyes were puffy and watering and his voice was an octave deeper and broke on every third word. There was a wastebasket full of tissues next to the pizza boxes on the floor. Lucky was laying down on the end of the bed even though Laura had done her best to train him out of that to no avail, thanks to Clint.

In short, Clint looked pathetic.

“How can I help you, your highness?” Laura asked, holding back the urge to roll her eyes.

“I can’t reach the remote.” He whined. Laura didn’t hold back the eye-roll now. Clint was ridiculous when he was sick, he acted like a child. She looked at the remote that was just out of his reach on the nightstand.

“Are you serious? Just stretch.”

“Come on, Laura, I’m dying.”

“You’re whining and needy and in desperate need of a shower but you’re not dying.” Clint stared after her pathetically and Laura rolled her eyes again before grabbing the remote and throwing it at her boyfriend, catching him in the ribs.

“Ooooowww.” Clint moaned, making Lucky howl right after him.

“I’m going to be late for work and if I am Natasha really is going to kill you. Don’t eat too much pizza while I’m gone and make sure you use the vapor rub.” Clint leaned up like he was waiting for a kiss but Laura stepped back.

“Not a chance. It’s not worth getting sick over.”

“I take offense to that. I’m a great boyfriend.”

“You are a boyfriend, you got that part right at least.” She chuckled at Clint’s pouty face before going over to Lucky and running her fingers through his fur, kissing the top of his head just to rub it in Clint’s face a little bit more.

“Take good care of daddy while I’m gone, okay?” Lucky looked up at her adoringly causing her to smile before leaving the room.

“I love you.” Clint called, or tried to before he went into a coughing fit.

“Drink water.” Laura called back, continuing to leave. She didn’t think she was ever going to have children, what with the big child her boyfriend basically was.


	20. Frank/Karen (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Wanna dance?"
> 
> Pairing: Frank Castle/Karen Page
> 
> Word Count: 695

When Karen took the job working for the New York Bulletin and sat down behind Ben's desk, she made a promise to herself to honor him and to do that she figured that she would be doing hard hitting news stories, exposing people, distributing truth and doling out justice so it was frankly disconcerting that she found herself at a cocktail party.

"Ever since Justin Hammer was arrested, his sister Valerie Hammer has been doing her best Pepper Potts impersonation, trying to make sure the company doesn't go under. Part of the image overhaul is putting on this cocktail party/charity event so that everyone from the blue bloods to the bourgeoisie can rub elbows and donate a few thousand dollars to the poor orphaned babies of Sokovia to make them feel better about themselves." Ellison explained.

"As long as none of the refugees end up in America, of course." Karen retorted.

"You said it, not me."

"That should be the story here. Thousands of displaced refugees who are now facing discrimination, a lot of whom are Romani and face prejudice because of it, as well as the anti-Semitic sentiments against a largely Jewish group. Why does that sound familiar?"

"You can ask those questions of Ms. Hammer's guests at the gala. Friday, 8 PM, formal wear. Don't be late."

So Karen found herself in a ballroom wearing a red knee length satin dress courtesy of Doris who wouldn’t let Karen wear jeans and a t-shirt like she wanted and ordered her to go to her and Ben’s place and grab a dress from the closet. She looked around with disdain at all of the people who she didn’t know. She had interviewed a few people per Ellison’s orders but still hadn’t gotten to the hostess so despite how she felt she couldn’t leave yet. She sipped on her champagne as her eyes glossed disinterestedly around the room.

“You look like you’d rather be shot in the foot than be in this room.” Karen froze as she recognized the gravelly voice behind her before turning around and facing him. He was standing there in a white suit with black trim and a black button-up underneath it. His hair was how it regularly was, his nose was broken again, he had a bruise under his eye and an unhealed scar on his cheek but still…

“You clean up well.” She commented.

“And you, uh…” He trailed off, gesturing at her dress with a slight nod. She rose an eyebrow at him.

“Um, thanks I guess. Wait, what are you even doing here?”

“I’m not here for you.”

“I didn’t say you were. You’re not here for any of the guests, are you? Because, I mean, sure they’re pretty vapid but they aren’t exactly the type you’re used to.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what that means.” He stared her down for a moment before looking away.

“No, I ain’t here for any of them.” Karen scrounged her eyes in confusion.

“Well, if you aren’t here for one of them or for me, then why are you here?” Frank shrugged, before grabbing an hors d’oeuvre off of a passing waiter.

“It’s free food.” Karen chuckled and looked down, pushing her hair behind her ear and just catching the smile Frank tried to hide from her.

“Well, since you’re here and I’m bored out of my mind and in need of better company, wanna dance?”

“I’m not better company.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. Now do you want to stand around and mope or are you going to dance with me?” He looked her up and down with an intense gaze. Whenever he looked at her, she felt like he was taking her apart, peering inside of her and then putting her back together with perhaps a few screws not quite as tight as they were to begin with.

“I suppose I’ll dance with you, but don’t complain to me about your feet after. Remember you asked me.” Karen rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the dance floor and feeling suddenly very glad Ellison forced her to come to this party.


	21. Claire/Matt (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "You fainted... straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn't have to go to such extremes."
> 
> Pairing: Claire Temple/Matt Murdock
> 
> Word Count: 663
> 
> Tags: Future fic, some spoilers from "Daredevil" S2

He wasn't in his apartment.

That was his first thought as he regained consciousness a lot slower than he would've liked. The air around him was stale with blood and antibiotics but under that he could smell cinnamon, cardamom, raspberries and wildflowers. That mixture of scents along with the fact that he could feel parts of his skin pulled tight like he'd been given stitches told him exactly where he was.

"Claire?" He called, his voice slightly hoarse from the one guy who had managed to get his hands on him and tried to choke him to death. Foggy was going to freak when he saw the bruises... if he saw the bruises. He heard footsteps approach him from the living room before he felt her sit down in front of him.

"It's about time you woke up." She said. She sounded a mixture of exasperated and annoyed but spoke in soft tones. He was wondering when that softness towards him would leave. He hoped it never would but between Karen and Foggy leaving him and Elektra dying, he was waiting for the next foot to drop with Claire.

"How'd I get here?"

"I was at the bodega two blocks away and you showed up drenched in blood, scaring the daylights out of Senora Ojuela. Then you fainted... straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn't have to go to such extremes."

"Well, you're a hard woman to get a hold of lately. Night Nurse, is it?" Matt asked, his voice taking a slight teasing edge.

"I didn't choose the name."

“No, I guess not. I met some of your friends.”

“They are not my friends.”

“They don’t seem to think so. Apparently, the Spiderkid is spearheading a campaign against me in order to protect your honor and he’s been recruiting. Jessica and Luke threatened me, Misty and Colleen told me to stay away from you on pain of katana and Danny would’ve been content for me to bleed out on the floor rather than bother you.” Claire rolled her eyes.

“He definitely isn’t my friend or protector.” Claire really tried to keep Peter away from her but he kept breaking into her apartment even when he wasn’t injured (which was rare).

“It’s okay. I don’t mind getting the shovel talk from all of your superhero buddies, you know even though we’re not...” Claire looked down. She and Matt had been talking amicably lately, what with her becoming more and more involved in the world of superheroes but they weren’t together. Even though she told her… patients as much, they apparently didn’t understand that.

“Well, they can be overbearing. You’ll be fine by the way. The bleeding had stopped. You’ll be bruised to all hell, but nothing you aren’t used to, in case you were wondering.”

“I know that, I’m always okay. I’m lucky I guess.”

“Let’s hope we don’t see the day when that luck runs out. Or you could, you know, get a partner.”

“Claire--”

“You don’t have to do the lone gunslinger thing. Everyone else has partners. Hell, Luke’s bringing a whole team together.”

“What? The discount Avengers?”

“Don’t be mean. Just think about it please?” Matt stayed stubbornly silent. He felt Claire shift in her chair and then her scent got closer and closer to him until her soft lips were pressed against his forehead.

“For me?” She asked, leaning over him. If he didn’t know Claire better, he would think she was trying to manipulate him. Maybe she was. Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing with the purpose she was using it for, at least to her. Matt nodded anyway.

“I’ll think about it.” Claire didn’t push it. She got up and walked back towards the kitchen.

“I’m making soup and Santino brought down some clean clothes, you can stay on the couch tonight.”

“Thanks Claire, really.”

“It’s what I’m here for.” Matt smirked.

“Is that your catchphrase, Night Nurse?”

“Shut up.”


	22. Bucky/Natasha (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "There's no going back if we do this."
> 
> Pairing(s)/Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov
> 
> Word Count: 620

It was dark and still in the compound as Natalia moved around, their handlers having gone off to bed and left them alone, within reason at any rate. She and the Soldier had spent most of the night sparring together. She managed to get him pinned to the mat a 1/3 of the time but he still won for the most part. She did not beat herself up too much for this though. She was still the only one who had managed to ever best him, however temporarily. Even Yelena hadn't managed that so she took pride in it.

She walked into the locker room, intending to grab her clothes and shower before heading off to bed before pausing behind some lockers as she noticed he was already in the room. Usually, he let her have the locker room first for however long she wanted before he came in. She watched him as he sat on one of the benches, his shirt off as he inspected his metal arm. This was not the first time she had seen him devoid of a shirt but it never failed to stoke a heat in her body. She knew it was arousal, she had been trained to make her body respond to all kinds of situations. Forcing arousal was one of them, but in her 19 years she hadn't felt it come as naturally as it had been when it came to him. She watched him for about two minutes as he individually checked each metal plate silently before he stood up and turned his back on her, looking into the locker.

"Are you planning to watch me all night?" He asked. His Russian was perfect but devoid of any accent, telling her he was not from here but she already knew that.

"Maybe. The view isn't so bad." He turned to her with a deadpan glare but that only made her smile more. He rolled his eyes before turning away.

"Find something to do."

"I am doing something. I'm observing you."

"Why?"

"Because I find you fascinating." She admitted, walking closer to him.

"Don't." She chuckled slightly shaking her head, causing her long hair to brush irritatingly against her neck. Her red bangs were pasted to her sweaty forehead and she was wearing a sweat top, her body felt overly hot but she didn't attribute it to her clothes.

"I can't. I like you." He turned to face her only to find her standing right behind him. His eyes widened slightly but there was no way she should've surprised him.

"Don't." He repeated softly. She ignored him, raising a hand and pressing it to his cheek. His body stayed rigid as her fingers moved over his face. She traveled up to his hair, passing her fingers through the strands before migrating down to his lips.

"Natalia..." He trailed off. His body was stone-still but she could see the internal struggle in his eyes.

"Stop thinking."

"There's no going back if we do this." Natalia shrugged in response.

"What have we got to lose?" He didn't have an answer for that. 

She leaned forward carefully, giving him a chance to leave if he wanted to. He didn't move, it didn't feel like he was breathing either. She pressed her lips to his and felt his whole body relax, like a heavy weight was off of his shoulders. He didn't respond to the kiss at first but after a while his lips began to move against hers and his hand pressed against her cheek pulling her closer. She thought she should be afraid. If anyone found out, that would surely be the end of them. Somehow, she couldn't find it in herself to care.


	23. Misc (4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "It could be worse."
> 
> Pairing(s)/Characters: Sam Wilson & Bucky Barnes
> 
> Word Count: 304

Sam hated his life sometimes. This moment was one of them. It wasn't the fact that he was a fugitive or that he'd been captured by a giant spider or even that he was stuck to a web wrapped in a cocoon to be eaten later. It was the man stuck to his back whistling like all of this was okay.

"Please stop." Sam ground out through his teeth as Bucky was whistling the Charleston. Sam knew for a fact that he hated that song which meant he was doing it to annoy him.

"Hey, it could be worse." Bucky commented.

"How? How exactly could it be worse?"

"You could be alone. Then you'd just be bored."

"I would rather be in the digestive tract of whatever took us than be stuck here with you."

"Now that's just hurtful." Sam rolled his eyes and did his best to ignore Bucky but the man managed to make it impossible as he started wiggling against his back.

"What are you doing?"

"I think I can reach the tracking device in my arm. If I can, I can hit the panic button."

"One: why is there a tracking device in your arm? Two: why didn't you think of that earlier?"

"The docs in Wakanda figured it'd come in handy to know where I was should I find myself in nefarious hands again, which happens more than you would think. And where's the fun in immediate solutions?"

"I'm going kill you. Steve will just have to understand; he'll just have to." Sam mumbled to himself.

"Got it!" Bucky exclaimed happily as a rumbling started sounding through the cave.

"Uh-oh." He said as Sam groaned.

"Told you it could be worse." Bucky mumbled. Sam wished he wasn't tied up so he could smack him over the head with something.


	24. Peggy/Daniel (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "If you did, I'm going to kill you."
> 
> Pairing: Peggy Carter/Daniel Sousa
> 
> Word Count: 327

Daniel had been married for twelve years now and you'd think that was long enough time to know his wife was not to be trifled with but twelve years was also long enough to forget certain things.

"Daniel!" Peggy's voice called through the house. He looked up from where he and his two older children were playing checkers. His son and daughter exchanged a look between them and then immediately ran from the room as they heard their mothers' thundering steps coming towards them.

The traitors.

Daniel sent up a silent prayer before looking at Peggy who now stood in the doorway, their infant son on her hip.

"Tell me you didn't." She hissed at him, slowly stalking into the room. He felt like prey to her but his crutch was out of arm's reach and walking without it would make her angrier.

"You better tell me you didn't, because if you did I'm going to kill you." Daniel looked at her with confusion.

"Um, what did I do?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Peggy looked at their son and Daniel immediately knew what this was about.

"Okay, no, that was Howard, not me."

"Say 'mommy', Richard." The baby looked a Peggy with a large grin on his face.

"Bollocks!" He exclaimed. The word was garbled, the L's more like W's, but it was decipherable enough to understand what he said.

"Bollocks? My son's first word is 'bollocks' and you're telling me it's nothing to do with you?" Peggy continued, glaring at him. Richard didn’t help the situation any as he began happily flailing in his mother’s arm, saying the word repeatedly.

"I told Howard not to--"

"You told _Howard_? You left my son alone with Howard? Howard, who barely takes care of his own child. Howard, whose son’s first word was ‘shit’. _That_ Howard?" Daniel opened his mouth again before closing it with a sigh.

"I'll get the couch ready."

"That sounds like a fantastic idea."


End file.
